Doomsday Wonderland c1-855

by N. Heller

  After the waiter tapped on the spot as he spoke about, the ink on the paper quickly faded and formed into an ammunition list. There were only five shops on the list, and their selling prices were more or less the same. Lin Sanjiu felt she wouldn't be able to earn a cent let alone as much as 3,500 Stamina Points with those minor price differences.

  The waiter pointed at the most left side of the notice board and said, "The last column collects all the latest trading trends and news. Do check it out if you have the time."

  There was nothing in the "Trading News" section—aside from broadcasting the news of a restaurant on the Velvet Cake Route called "Lips" opening a new branch—and it took her only a glance to finish the whole column.

  "Velvet Cake Route? Isn't that the route Hei Zeji is currently on?" The thought surfaced in Lin Sanjiu's mind, "I wonder if he has entered the last stage as well? What is his player number, then?"

  She somewhat felt she could get the thing done with half the effort if she could find herself a partner to share the job. However, it wasn't the right time now, so she put down the thought. After that, she turned around and asked the waiter, "Can I have a direct conversation with the sellers or players through the trading house?"

  The waiter nodded. He smiled, "Yes, you can. However, you have to wait until that person shows up here. Normally, we charge 1 Stamina Points for every message sent, while receiving and replying a message is free of charge, but as you're our VIP guest, the charge is waived."

  "Owh, so the [Scrooge McDuck Power] had begun to do its magic trick." Satisfied, Lin Sanjiu nodded. Then, she asked again, "How much you guys charge for your service? How much are we looking at for every successful trade?"

  "We'll collect 5% from the total amount for every successful trade. Of course, for you miss, we only take 3%."

  That was a pretty good offer if the transaction amount was huge; however, it didn't affect Lin Sanjiu much since she had only 96 Stamina Points.

  After giving the waiter a thankful nod, Lin Sanjiu took a seat. While taking a sip from her drink, she looked at the ever-changing notice board.

  For now, she had to sort everything out first before setting out on her journey to earn some Stamina Points. If she was determined to make the most profit out of a single deal, then she had to think of a way. She felt earning Stamina Points was the same as how she earned her living pre-apocalypse. It never swayed from the golden rule: buy low and sell high.

  "There are 20 players engaged actively in trading among 12 routes. It seems more than I thought." Two heads were better than one; Lin Sanjiu called Mrs. Manas so that they could sort out the best possible way. "However, it isn't the same for shops. I have been browsing the notice board for 5 minutes, and I still haven't reached the end of the list. I wonder how many shops are there."

  Mrs. Manas yawned in her brain.

  "I believe all the other 20 players have the same objective as me. All of them wish to earn enough Stamina Points so that they can enter the final pitstop as soon as possible. Hence, it's impossible to get Stamina Points from the players and getting from them will not do us any good." Lin Sanjiu blabbered on and on without minding Mrs. Manas. It seemed like every time she called Mrs. Manas was to have her listened to her complain. "Even if we assume that all of them have 100 Stamina Points, we could only get 2,000 Stamina Points from them at best. It's still not enough, and I guess I still had to get the Stamina Points from the shop."

  What she thought was on point, but when she scrolled through the long list of shops, she didn't see any shops with buying request, and even if she did see one, the price they offered was roughly the same. The only shop she found with buying request— or perhaps it was better to change the status as "Lost"—read like this: I have lost a leash. I offer 20 Stamina Points for anyone who found the leash and returns it to me. At the same time, I'm open to any other kind of leash."

  Taking her chances, Lin Sanjiu took out her [Female Slave Bondage Rope] and tried her luck with the waiter. After a minute, the shop owner replied, "Thanks for your offer but I guess an s*x toy is not very suitable to leash a dog."

  "It isn't an s*x toy!"

  Lin Sanjiu was between laughter and tears as she kept the bondage rope in her inventory. Before she turned away, she asked the waiter again, "I have seen multiple players with the status "Selling." May I know what they are selling and who they are selling to?"

  "The things you can sell are in spades. They might be selling their Special Items, or offering some services. Players and shops can purchase if they require such service. Here, please take a look at the third column. Can you see that there are different categories?"

  Lin Sanjiu looked up, and she did see two categories: "Service" and "Special Item." Both with a sparse number of words beneath them. Apparently, those were still available for sale.

  A smile appeared on the lips of the waiter as he returned to his seat behind the counter, "If you can't decide on what you want to sell, I suggest you have a look outside. Perhaps you might get some ideas."

  Lin Sanjiu pondered the suggestion for a while. She took one last look at the notice board and jotted down the information she needed on a piece of paper. Then, she exited the Cloud Gathering Trading House.

  "What do you have in mind?" Although Mrs. Manas was uninterested, she still had to ask.

  "I'm not a business person," Lin Sanjiu said. As she strode down the Pumpkin Route, she looked at the shops at the two sides of Pumpkin Route, "I have a plan, but I'm not sure if it will work out for us."

  Nobody could tell what kind of shop it was from the first glance. The ceiling, walls, and ground were all painted in black color adorned with brilliant pink geometric patterns that were a huge contrast from the black surroundings, giving the shop a modern impression. It appeared to Lin Sanjiu that Starry Carnival Amus.e.m.e.nt Park didn't seem to limit how the pocket dimension beings decorated their shops. The main hall had no other furniture asides from the glaringly cartoonish pink lips—the trademark of the shop—printed on the wall. From the logo, Lin Sanjiu deduced that this shop was that restaurant Lips.

  "I'm sorry, Miss," A black-dressed waiter with pink apron came out of nowhere and greeted Lin Sanjiu after she had walked two steps into the restaurant, "We're not officially opened yet. As you can see, our restaurant doesn't even have a chair or table."

  The new branch "Lips" was set to open in Pumpkin Route. It was just that Lin Sanjiu didn't know whether the news on the Trading News of Cloud Gathering Trading House's board was by chance or because it was going to open on Pumpkin Route.

  "I know. I just wanted to have a look." Taking advantages of the effect 1 of [Scrooge McDuck Power], Lin Sanjiu ordered the waiter haughtily, "Is that your menu? Give me one."

  The waitress was stunned for a moment before taking a menu from the pile of menus and handed one to Lin Sanjiu.

  "For your information, I opt for high standards," Lin Sanjiu faked as a crazy rich person. She flipped the menu hoity-toity and said, "Where did you guys import your ingredient from? I will never dine in your restaurant if you guys don't prepare your dishes with first-class ingredients."

  The waitress was seemingly overwhelmed by her faked "wealth," she quickly replied to her question reverently, "Rest assured, miss. We source our ingredient from the top-graded supplier in Starry Carnival Amus.e.m.e.nt Park. I believe you must have heard of the name "Yae Hon," right? They are our main supplier."

  Of course, Lin Sanjiu had no idea what the heck Yae Hon was, but she couldn't burst her disguise, so she just nodded expressionlessly. After she returned the menu that said that each dish cost more than 10 Stamina Points to the waitress, she retreated from the restaurant.

  "Who would dine-in this kind of blood-s.u.c.k.i.n.g restaurant?" Lin Sanjiu heaved a sigh of relief after she confirmed that she was out of the waitress's sight. She pulled out the piece of paper and checked on it, "Yae Hon, Yae Hon, here it is. Yae Hon is a food ingredient supplier based on Frog Route, and they supply eggs, marbled beef, lettuce
, and mozzarella."

  According to the waiter in Cloud Gathering Trading House, anything that players or shops could buy was the same. The trading house was the "market." You could only buy from what's in the market. Any business under the table would never be able to escape the trading house, and the handling fee would be charged and recorded.

  "Of course, a restaurant needs to stock more than this," Lin Sanjiu mumbled to herself as she continued to walk forward, "Are they trying to simplify the complexity?"

  The next shop was a souvenir gift shop, the shop after the souvenir gift shop was a boutique. She f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y pushed down the urge to buy herself clothes to replace her bathrobe and continued her trip to visit shop after shop to collect more information.

  After going through a couple of shops, Lin Sanjiu finally realized why Hei Zeji loved this pocket dimension to his core.

  Even though she was in a pocket dimension, the atmosphere here really could make her forget her real circ.u.mstances. When she was here, she had thrown the apocalypse world behind her thoughts, and struggling for life was no longer her priority. Looking at the dazzling and peculiar shops, Lin Sanjiu felt she had returned to the peaceful and developed human society.

  "Here is my last question," Lin Sanjiu offered the shop owner a smile, "Is there a bank here?"

  The shop owner who was filling her cup shook his head. It was a little bit disappointing.

  After she had finished her tea and got a line on a few things, she exited the shop without buying anything from that unfortunate shop.

  "I realize you're getting more and more shameless, "Mrs. Manas sounded unsettled, "Even I felt embarrassed just now."

  Lin Sanjiu sighed, "You can only handle so much? There is more to come. I still haven't unleashed my trump card yet."

  "What you gonna do?"

  Lin Sanjiu didn't respond to that question. Since she had gotten herself a handful of information, she felt it was about time. Beaming, she activated the [Consciousness Mimicry]. Then, she whispered, "Scrooge McDuck."

  Chapter 381 - Wealth is Power

  At 6:47 PM, player number 57, Lin Sanjiu, headed to the Cloud Gathering Trading House with 21,055 Stamina Points.

  She had to thank Scrooge McDuck's poor combat capability and spiritual power.

  Ever since she attained the ability [Consciousness Mimicry], she couldn't last more than two minutes every time she mimicked Nüwa. Hence, she had grown accustomed to the two minutes limit, and she thought this was normal. However, it had been a few hours since she mimicked Scrooge McDuck, but the effect still hadn't worn off yet, and she felt she even could go on for another few hours.

  "How weak this duck has to be for the [Consciousness Mimicry] to last so long," Mrs. Manas proclaimed in Lin Sanjiu's psyche, she was shocked, "Your consciousness hasn't lessened even a single bit."

  Forcing a scoff from her lips, Lin Sanjiu refuted as if somebody had violated her, "I don't believe you're such a shallow person. Combat ability prowess shouldn't be the sole parameter to determine the true strength of a person whatsoever. Also, the true potential of this duck lies in his marketing skills and his tactful thinking."

  "Oh," Mrs. Manas pursed her lips, "I have forgotten your [Consciousness Mimicry] haven't worn off yet."

  Even though she had retained her self-consciousness while in [Consciousness Mimicry] mode, her habits and patterns were still influenced by Scrooge McDuck, "Don't you know how much Stamina Points I have earned? Let me tell you something; I can rise again even if I left myself with only 9.6 Stamina Points, let alone 96 Stamina Points."

  "You earned it? They aren't yours!" Mrs. Manas refuted. Lin Sanjiu's Scrooge McDuck-like attitude pushed her to her limits.

  Lin Sanjiu scoffed, forcing a "humph" out from her lips, but she didn't reply to Mrs. Manas. Very soon, Cloud Gathering Trading House swam into her view.

  Lin Sanjiu jotted down all useful information on a piece of paper after she had conversed with all the shop owners on the street. Then, she activated her [Consciousness Mimicry]. Since Scrooge McDuck was a famous cartoon character, it was a piece of cake for her to mimic him after gaining some knowledge about him. As soon as the "duck" had come on stage, she returned to a beverage outlet on the street.

  This time, however, she looked different.

  Though she still had the height that dwarfed ordinary people tall and the pair of skeletal wings, her galvanized, heroic spirit that forged through countless blood-bathed battles was gone. Her amber eyes were shone with the light of excitement. As she reached the shop owner at the counter, she rested her arm on the counter.

  "Hey boss, give me one milk tea." Lin Sanjiu proactively extended her wrist so that the female shop owner could collect 9 Stamina Points from her. Then, she spoke to her, with a gregarious demeanor that caused Mrs. Manas to look at her woodenly and slack-jawed, "Your milk tea smell goods. Is that fresh milk?"

  "Yea it's. Customers nowadays are too demanding." The female shop owner sighed a proudful sigh as she deftly crafted Lin Sanjiu her milk tea, "There wouldn't be any second purchase if the beverage is awful. Although top grade ingredients are indeed expensive, I have no choice. It's the only way I can stay in business."

  Narrowing her eyes, Lin Sanjiu she glanced from one box of milk to another, and her smile grew broader.

  "If my memory serves me right, there is only one factory in Starry Carnival Amus.e.m.e.nt Park that supplies fresh milk. I remember that the factory is based on the Gingerbread Man Route. To be honest, 5 Stamina Points for every liter of milk is a bit overpriced." She said, smiling. "I have a way that could cut your cost, are you interested?"

  The female shop owner lifted her eyebrows, casting a questioning gaze at Lin Sanjiu, "What idea do you have?"

  "You have to pay an extra 5% processing fee every time you source from the trading house, right?" Lin Sanjiu said as she sat on a chair. She lifted one of her legs and rested it on the other, feigning a bossy like demeanor as she moved on, "If you buy from me, you will only have to pay 3%, so if you purchase all your supplies through me, you could save up a lot of money."

  Hearing this, the female shop owner's eyes shone brightly. She even stopped making the milk tea, "You can do that?"

  "Of course," Lin Sanjiu replied steadily. With a confident and comforting tone, she continued, "I believe you must've heard about the VIP of Cloud Gathering Trading House before. That's right; I'm one of their VIP guests. As a VIP, I only need to pay 3% processing fees."

  The female shop owner with curly hair probed forward and murmured into Lin Sanjiu's ears, "You're not going to charge me for your service, aren't you?"

  "Don't you worry about that; I got your back. It's free of charge," Lin Sanjiu smiled, "To be honest, there is this rank called Platinum which is one more rank higher than a VIP guest and a Platinum holder will only be charged 1% processing fee. However, to become a Platinum grade, I must reach a certain threshold level, so by doing you this favor, it is a win-win for both of us."

  Mrs. Manas was dumbfounded. She rummaged through her memories for the "Platinum" mentioned by the waiter in Cloud Gathering Trading House but sadly, she couldn't find any hint of it. The female shop owner, on the other hand, was thrilled. Her felicity was best shown when she urged Lin Sanjiu to sign a contract with her as if she would find contentment through the contract. It took Mrs. Manas a strenuous amount of effort to push down and question Lin Sanjiu.

  "If I want to push over the threshold," Unlike the agitated female shop owner, Lin Sanjiu wasn't at all concerned about the contract. With a sloven attitude, she tapped the table with a pen in her hand and talked, "I won't accept orders of one or two cartons. Not only does it waste my time, but it also will not do good for my reputation as a VIP guest."

  The female shop owner bit the lower part of her lips, summoning an embarrassed smile upon her face. She talked like this, "But my shop isn't a large franchise whatsoever, and milk has a very short shelf life. I can, at most, take a week worth of supplies from you; not more than
that."

  Lin Sanjiu inhaled a deep breath. A troubled expression dawned on her as her brows were brought together firmly.

  "A week... Oh, is this your invoice? Can I have a look... Hmm, okay. A week worth supplies come out to around 600 to 700 Stamina Points. It's pretty little." She placed the invoice down and looked sternly at the female shop owner, "Let me be honest with you, my minimum trading volume ranges from 3,000 to 8,000 Stamina Points. Daily."

  Mrs. Manas almost choked to death.

  "That's huge," The female owner was a bit set back. She murmured, "It's impossible. I can't amass so much money right now."

  Lin Sanjiu took over the milk tea she had ordered. As if she had half the ownership of the beverage outlet, she leisurely opened her wings and threw herself into the seat. Then, she spoke evenly, with a warm sunny smile, "Actually, you don't have to shoulder the amount alone. Aren't there many shops on this street? I'm not that all familiar with them, so can you do me a favor propagate this good deal to them? I mean, since you guys are shop-mates, perhaps they trust you more than me."

  "I can do that for you," The female shop owner sat beside Lin Sanjiu ruminating the possibilities of Lin Sanjiu's suggestion, "Since this is the kind of deal that wouldn't cause us, the merchandiser, any adverse effect, I believe nobody would say no. On top of that, contracts signed in Starry Carnival Amus.e.m.e.nt Park is guaranteed and protected by the law prescribed by the amus.e.m.e.nt park, so we don't have to worry about you running away with our Stamina Points... However, since I'm doing you a favor, can you please..."

  "No problem! I'll give you the best deal I can. After all, we should help each other, right?" Lin Sanjiu agreed without batting an eye.

  The thing that happened next seemed pretty logical, yet it was somehow preposterous. Mrs. Manas could follow the flow no more. All she could manage was to look at the female shop owner in a daze as the latter made the call. Then, one after another, people with all kind of size and shape dashed in and out from the beverage outlet. They were all the shop owners of the shops on the street. All of them rushed to the outlet the moment the female shop owner had phoned them to check whether or not the female owner was lying to them. As for the leading chain like Lips whose owner was not known to the public, none of them showed themselves.